One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant dusty miller is to use the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

Frost tolerance for dusty miller:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Dusty Miller are very cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Richmond is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dusty miller indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dusty miller if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richmond.